Observations on journalism by journalist and former university faculty member Lewis Perdue.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Attribution provides credibility

While information that is provably true in a court of law is the gold standard in libel defense, failing to provide ample and frequent attribution diminishes an article's credibility even if every sentence is backed by legally solid evidence.

In an era of shrinking newsrooms in traditional media and the concurrent rise of citizen-generated content online, attribution is poorly understood and frequently absent or inadequate.

The Journalist Is Rarely The Expert Or Best Source

Journalists are rarely experts in the topics they write about or even the best source unless they are reporting events they have witnessed first hand. Even first hand or accounts by experts demand photos, video or confirming attribution from disinterested third parties to have inherent credibility.

A lack of attribution makes an article easy to dispute, can be legally hazardous, and offers Internet trolls an easy target.

The short excerpt below from the New York Times provides a solid exemplar of how to do this correctly.

Right-click image to enlarge.

The rest of the article continues to substantiate credibility with links
to outside sources, image captures of documents and photos of locations
and other relevant scenes.

Right click image to enlarge.

The ample attribution in this article is particularly significant because the object of the text, Paul Manafort, says the report is 'Silly'.

In a disagreement such as this, citing specific sources allows the reader to make fact-based decisions on the article's credibility. Because this is a political article, many readers will make up their minds in a partisan manner.

However, without the immediate attribution in the article and the context of multiple sources, this would be much easier to dismiss as a biased polemic and irresistible troll fodder.

About Lewis Perdue

Lewis Perdue taught journalism and related courses as a faculty member at Cornell University and UCLA. He has more than 45 years of experience spanning local reporting to enterprise and investigative reporting in Washington, D.C. including coverage of the White House and Congress.

Lew's current daily and enterprise journalism activities include his role as Publisher and Executive Editor of Wine Industry Insight and Craft Beverage Insights -- both covering business, finance, legal, regulatory, trade, management, health, and other industry issues. Wine Industry Insight, which he founded in 2008, is a follow-on publication to Wine Business Publications which he founded in 1991 and sold in 1997.

For information about Lew's technology and other experience, please visit Ideaworx.

Journalism Experience

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: Articles published in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Washington Monthly, The Washington Post, The Nation, Jack Anderson's column. Author: Washington Connection (non-fiction book on KoreaGate based on shredded documents).

COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW: Laurel for exposing unlicensed and illegal gun sales on eBay in my January 22, 1999 column in TheStreet.Com. As a result, eBay prohibited sales of guns.

Articles in New Scientist; Clarion Award winner for investigative article (New West/California Magazine) on previously unknown health hazards of coal-fired electrical generating plants. Author of The French Paradox, Beyond, the best-selling book on alcohol and health;

TRAVEL/FOOD/WINE WRITING: Former CEO of and regular contributor to Smart Wine Magazine; author of The VINOfile, a syndicated consumer wine column.

Author of travel/dining guidebook, The Country Inns of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia; contributor to Travel & Leisure, Travel/Holiday, Los Angeles Magazine, Washingtonian Magazine, Country Gentleman.